Nate's 2002 TJ, Not so simple anymore by gst95dsm

8 minute(s) of a 391 minute read

Got my CO2 bottle filled today! I have heard of it being a hassle at some places but luckily I have a place locally that I heard was familiar with customer owned CO2 tanks for our uses. And sure enough as soon as I walked in the door someone snatched up my tank and less than 10 minutes later I was on my way.  

I also got my Crawl fire extinguisher mount painted up and installed today, I really like it and it's literally a split second to get the extinguisher off the mount. Little sucker rattles though, gonna have to figure that out.

And my final bit of "jeeping" today was putting on my new Smittybilt mesh top. Yeah it's way too early to be switching back to summer mode but my buddy is having a grand (re)opening (he moved locations) at his exhaustand off road shop and is having a show and shine kind of thing on Saturday and I think my junk looks like crap with the top on, so off it came today. Put my fancy doors on too.... haha!

Oh and just a quick preliminary review on that mesh top..... LOVE IT. My buddy bought one last year and I liked it, but now having one I can see it's the way to go. It lets the wind pass through so it doesn't flap or catch air at all, silent! Also to my surprise, the straps and plastic buckles are WAY more stout than my Bestop Bikini top. Very secure feeling when your tightening them, my bestop always feels about to break. I found this quite the surprise since this top is only 39.99. Only two issues I can foresee are.... not enough sun coverage, and snagging on trees while wheeling.









About as clean as it's ever been.

1-19-2013

Did some parking lot crawling today supporting my buddy at his grand opening. Good times!  





Planning to attend the EMC in a few weeks! Anyone else going as a spectator???

1-22-2013

Well I am working towards some goals of being a little more self sufficient and ready for whatever comes my way in the back country, as well as being more organized with my gear.  

I always carry a fairly comprehensive tool kit, first aid kit, and 3 day supply per person survival kit. What I never have carried though was any fluids. And have always felt that I should. I decided to utilize the drivers side battery tray as a fluid storage compartment. I think some year TJ's have ABS crap right there so this might not be possible for everyone. Also I have Metalcloak inner fenders so I don't even remember what it looks like without them.

All I really did to accomplish this so called compartment was to fabricate a fourth "wall" out of some sheet metal and welded it to the battery tray.







It's really not a lot of space obviously but I was able to put a surprising amount of stuff in it. I went to Wal-Mart and just bought the cheapest fluids I could, after all it's just for emergency. So here's what I'm able to carry...
1 auart of oil
1 quart of ATF
1 quart of gear oil
Small container of brake fluid
Small WD40
Funnel
JB Weld
Tube of RTV silicone
Superclue
Gloves
And 5 Gallon sized Zip lock bags.

One bag contains all the small stuff and the other bags. The bags come in handy for containing or reuse of any liquids you can capture, like if you have to pull a diff cover.

I figure this is a good start from carrying nothing in the past. I've got a bungee around the containers keeping them snug, we'll see how the containers hold up over time in that environment.





My next project I'm pretty excited about....



I picked up this 8 Gallon action packer today and will be ordering a SWAG Baja Bin asap. This is where it will be mounted. I've just got to fab up a simple but strong mount. It fits there perfect, doesn't take up much of the back seat room, will be accessible without removing it and will stop all my crap from rolling all over the Jeep while wheeling.

1-26-2013

Posted about this install in tech.  

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f9/sw...kseat-1469490/

2-20-2013

Build has gone a little stale! Just not sure what I want to do right now. Pretty happy with everything besides wanting to just go crazy and make it a race car after going to KOH. Fitted up an Artec 4 qt. crate the other day.... whoopdy do. Nice piece though.  

2qts. of oil, 1 aft, and 1 gear oil



Flat towed to the Hammers without incident... It rained on my way home. Needless to say, hammers dust, rain..... dirtiest this jeep has EVER been.



John and Gerald doing work on Chocolate Thunder.... They were SOOOOOO far ahead already by this point. I thought people would start coming through right after them but it took about a half hour for the Gigglepin team to show up, and then another half for the next closest team. It was pretty disappointing as a spectator at what was supposedly the best spot to spectate to see so few cars come through, and I was there ALL day. Seems like Aftershock would have been the place to be! If I had known my way around better I would gotten over there. It was good just to SEE Johnson Valley though and get a feel for the area. I can't wait to go wheeling there very soon.